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Smart running key to stealing bases for Tourists

Asheville Tourists outfielder Sam Hilliard leads off from second during Tuesday's game against the Hagerstown Suns. The Suns took the win with a final score of 8-7.
-Colby Rabon (colbyrabon@gmail.com) April 26, 2016(Photo: Colby Rabon photo)Buy Photo

ASHEVILLE – Last season, the Asheville Tourists led all of professional baseball with 258 stolen bases.

This season, the Tourists are seventh in the South Atlantic League with 21 thefts but next to last in success rate (55 percent in 38 attempts).

“Last year, we got better as the year went on, and this year we expect the same,” said Tourists manager Warren Schaeffer, whose team will complete a three-game series with Hagerstown at McCormick Field at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.

"The base running is getting better, but that’s an area where we need to keep improving. There have been some mistakes on the bases, but we have to continue to address it, which we do every day, and learn from it."

Being aggressive on the base paths is a philosophy within the Colorado Rockies’ organization, and the Tourists have taken that serious, finishing first in the league in stolen bases in 2013 (211) and second in 2014 (209).

Having players with above average speed helps, but that isn't the only thing that makes good base runners. Running intelligently and being able to pick up tendencies from the catcher and pitcher that may be beneficial can help a runner with average speed, or even below average speed, steal a bag.

Conversely, the fastest runner on the team can be picked off if he is not paying attention to the pitcher or the position player covering the base.

“We want you to be aggressive, but at the same time you have to be smart,” Schaeffer said. “That’s what we’re trying to teach at this level. Our goal as coaches, and we always talk about it, is that when a player leaves, his baseball IQ has risen, and a lot of that has to do with base running.

“Hitting and defense is repetition. You’re out there every night on the bases, and you have to think on your feet, so that’s a big part of getting smarter.”

Catcher Chris Rabago, who refers to himself as a plus base runner, leads the team in stolen bases with five. He’s been caught twice, which gives him a conversion rate of 71 percent.

“He’s smart, he’s always thinking, he wants to do something,” Schaeffer said. "If you get on first base and just stand, there nobody’s going to get better."

Added Rabago, “I’ve never been the fastest, and I’ve never been the slowest, but I’m a great base runner because I pay a lot of attention to what’s going on in the game, watching the pitcher and what he does.”

Tourists outfielder Sam Hilliard has been successful three times in six stealing attempts. Before signing with the Rockies’ organization, Hilliard said he'd never been with a team that put a heavy emphasis on base running.

“We’re out here working on it every day, and we’re trying to get that slight edge,” Hilliard said. “If you can steal bags on a team, it makes it harder for them to beat you.

"We do this thing called movement before action where we’re timing (the pitcher's) delivery and trying to move before he starts throwing. Even the slowest guys on the team can steal every time if we just time it right."